Located in East Sussex, Beacon Down Vineyard is an exciting, family owned English vineyard producing still and sparkling wine.

Beacon Down vineyard occupies around 18 acres in the beautiful High Weald near Heathfield in East Sussex.

A designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the vineyard is set on gentle South East facing slopes with stunning views over to the South Downs.

Two fields on the site were planted with nearly 10,000 vines in May 2015 and have thrived on the sandstone slopes and Sussex sunshine.

Phone

Paul - 07870 851138

Al - 07751 829613

Location

Beacon Down VineyardBrowns LaneCross in HandEast Sussex

TN210QJ

Opening

Visitors are very welcome, currently by appointment.

April to October.

Before the vineyard

April 2015 - Drainage installation

April 2015 - Ploughed for planting

May 2015 - Planting

June 2015

August 2015 - Trellis installed

October 2015 - Baby steps

May 2016 - Year 2

July 2016

August 2016 - Wild flowers establishing

August 2016 - Showing potential

October 2016 - Tidy vines

March 2017 - Pruning for harvest

April 2017 - Spring growth

August 2017

Harvest 2017

Harvest 2017

OUR WINES

We have planted five grape varieties at Beacon Down – Bacchus, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling.

Our first harvest was in October 2017 and we are now in the process of making both still and sparkling wines in partnership with some exceptional winemakers.

Meet the owners

paul & al pippard

On holiday in 2012 we started having one of those ‘what if’ conversations and we decided that it was now or never. On our return we took action to realise a dream of owning a vineyard.

While still living and working in London, Paul took the first steps and gained his Diploma in Wine Production from Plumpton College.

In 2014 we started our search and spent some long days driving around the countryside, small baby in tow. After a few months of looking we found an ideal site just outside a little village called Cross-in-Hand.

We were immediately struck with the potential and fell in love with how beautiful it is here. We sold our flat in London and made the move to Sussex to start our new life.

We are currently juggling work with running the vineyard, but hope to make it a full time occupation one day.